Verizon users hit by outage in Michigan, beyond: SOS status, map

(This story was updated to add new information.)

Verizon customers in metro Detroit reported service issues Monday morning, likely as part of a larger, nationwide connectivity problem that the wireless company said started at about 9 a.m., and it was attempting to fix.

“Some Verizon wireless customers may be experiencing connectivity issues,” the company said in its email to the Free Press. “Our engineering teams are working diligently on the issue. We will provide additional updates as they become available.”

Some customers said they are unable to make or receive calls but can send text messages.

Verizon, which calls itself as one of the largest wireless networks in the United States, did not identify, however, what caused the outage, how many were affected or give an estimated time when it would be resolved.

But, Downdetector, a website that tracks outages, showed customers reporting outages at about that time, and by about 11 a.m., the number of customers spike to more than 100,000, although that number had been tapering off, and by 3 p.m. was less than 50,000.

Moreover, the Federal Communications Commission, the agency that regulates wireless companies, said on social media it was “aware of a Verizon outage impacting customers in parts of the country,” and “working to determine the cause and extent of these service disruptions.”

Many affected phones showed “SOS only” in the phone status bar or an SOS icon, which meant the phone wasn’t connected to a cellular network, but, as a safety feature in the United States and Canada, could still make emergency calls.

What is SOS status?

SOS, in the days of Morse Code, stood for “save our souls” or “save our ship,” but is now short for emergency.

The site also showed customers of other carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile and US Cellular, also reporting service outages at about the same time, but in much smaller numbers.

In addition, search trends show many searching Google to try to find answers why their service was out.

Verizon outage maps

The service problem appeared to be limited to some — but not all — customers in Michigan.

Some speculated the outage mostly affected newer phones.

In addition to how many customers were reporting issues, Downdetector also offered maps showing where the reports were coming from. Verizon’s outages, the site said, were throughout the Midwest — including Chicago, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Omaha, Nebraska.

Other major cities with connection problems included Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Phoenix.

Verizon also offered its own outage map.

In order to check on Verizon’s outages, the company said its customers must be logged into the website, but users should be able find troubleshooting information, report problems and get a ticket number and estimated time of repair completion.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.